Miracle in Seville [Hardcover]

James A. Michener (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1995

Covering the story of a Seville rancher who is trying to recover his once-proud line of bulls, an American journalist is a witness to the rancher's devout faith and the enduring support of his sister, Magdalena. (General Fiction)

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Minor Michener at best, this slim yarn of bullfighting, religious faith, honor and adventure reaffirms the author's love of Spain, evidenced in his earlier Iberia, and introduces a veneer of spirituality that bestows a glib trendiness on the narrative. In flashback, narrator Shenstone, an American sports journalist, tells about his experiences two decades previously, when he was covering bullfights in Seville during a three-week festival that began on Palm Sunday. Shenstone meets proud, aged rancher Don Cayetano Mota, who prays to the Virgin Mary that the bulls he raises will perform well and thereby redeem his family name. Don Cayetano, whose spirit enters the consciousness of his bulls as they fight in the ring, has repeated apparitions of the Madonna that skeptical rationalist Shenstone initially dismisses; as events unfold, however, the American's disbelief is shaken. Don Cayetano's enemy is scrawny, cowardly Gypsy matador Lazaro Lopez, whose sister, the sinister Gypsy storyteller Magdalena, foresees that a bullfight will end in tragedy and uses her occult power to protect her brother. Regrettably, the final showdown in the ring?a mortal duel between good and evil?turns on simplistic stereotypes. And though Michener intends his colorful narrative, crammed with the lore of the toreador, as a paen to bullfighting, those who regard the sport as a cruel spectacle will find confirmation in the graphic narrative. Illustrated with 26 two-color drawings by John Fulton, a Seville-based American matador. Simultaneous Random House Audiobook; simultaneous large print trade edition, $22 0-679-76510-7.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Megaselling historical novelist Michener tells a tall tale. Shenstone, a sports journalist, goes to Spain to cover the aged proprietor of a ranch that produces bulls for the corrida--animals that, alas, do not measure up to the grandeur of their grandsires. The old man, Don Cayetano Mota, is praying daily and performing acts of homage to the Virgin--some of them dangerously demanding of a man of his years--so that she will intercede and restore the honor of his bulls. After one disastrous corrida in Malaga, Don Cayetano's prayers start coming true. But the old man gets involved in a contemptuous war of wills with a flashy young matador who is infamous for his sloppy kills and, worse yet, his frequent ploy of arguing with a fight's presidente that a bull is not worth killing, which causes the fans to riot. Inevitably, there comes a showdown between one of the newly magnificent Mota animals and the "cowardly" fighter, during which Shenstone, who has already seen some remarkable things when Don Cayetano has been at prayer, realizes that he has witnessed the miraculous. Par for Michener, most of the prose is as lively as income-tax instructions, and the characterizations are monochromatic. But Michener loves bullfighting, and whenever this tale focuses on it, his writing becomes, if hardly brilliant, at least informatively interesting. Ray Olson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Random House; First Edition edition (October 1995)
• ISBN-10: 999664331X
• ISBN-13: 978-9996643316
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,485,999 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Story Beautifully Told, October 22, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Miracle in Seville (Hardcover)

Hearing about the bull fights before visiting Spain I thought how cruel and terrible. My opinion was based on ideas I do not share and a culture I do not understand. In Madrid, I experienced a bullfight sitting next to a local. What I learned to appreciate that day. Now reading "Miracle", again my perspective has been changed. And isn't that what truly good reading does - changes our perspective? Michener teaches about the history and glory of the bullfight creating an understanding with the reader. While still not my choice of sport for the treatment of the animal, I better understand the bullfight. Thanks, Michener!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It is about the enchanting mystery of the powers of Faith., August 9, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Miracle in Seville (Hardcover)

I found that this book captured the beauty of Seville in all of it's grandeur. It described the love and passion of bullfighting and how it is reflected in the religous faith of it's most devout. The book accurately describes the love and devotion that the Spanish in Seville have for Our most Holy Mother. She is love and she is above all things. The book tells of how Our Lady peforms all kinds of miracles for those good and devout to her.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars outrageously inaccurate and badly written, March 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Miracle in Seville (Hardcover)

Anyone who knows Spain and bullfighting can only cringe (or hoot in derision) upon reading this ridiculous book. One has to wonder if Michener ever really visited this country. Among the many inaccuracies in the book, I'll list a few of the craziest: he has Spaniards spending pesos (the currency in Spain is pesetas), he has the locals referring to El Puerto de Santa Maria as "Santa Maria" (which no one does), and he has two bullfighters blaming a third for ruining their chances of getting carried out of the bullring in triumph (this simply never happens--each bullfighter is judged on his own merits). And the book is just badly written--somehow managing to be dull and melodrmatic at the same time. The "fiery gypsy" is an absurd stereotype, and all the characters are presented in the most wooden and amateurish manner. Only John Fulton's fine illustrations save the book from being a total loss (but Fulton--who was himself a matador--should have been ashamed of himself for being party to such a travesty).